This invention relates generally to communication and control devices, and more particularly to a communication and control device adapted to be used in conjunction with a hospital bed for activating any one of a number of functions such as bed adjust, mattress adjust, nurse call, room light, reading light, TV and phone.
There are many types of devices in the health care industry which allow a patient situated atop a hospital bed to activate a number of communication and control functions, such as adjust bed, adjust mattress, call nurse, room light, reading light, TV and phone. One such device is located in the hospital bed sideguard, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,015 assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Another such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,790, which discloses a bedside control module which may be releasably attached to a hospital bed siderail. These and other prior art devices generally employ one or more pushbutton or pressure sensitive type switches to activate the various communication and control functions. A common criticism of these types of devices is that a fairly high degree of manual dexterity is required by a patient in order to properly activate these devices. Accordingly, their application is relatively limited.
Various types of voice recognition systems have been developed which further tend to reduce or eliminate the need for relying on the activation of pushbutton or pressure sensitive type switches to provide for xe2x80x9chands freexe2x80x9d operation of some types of equipment. In these types of systems, electronics are xe2x80x9ctrainedxe2x80x9d to xe2x80x9clearnxe2x80x9d to associate certain functions with a user""s verbal commands, and to carry out or perform those functions upon subsequently receiving the learned verbal commands. Due to the sensitivity of such voice recognition systems, prior art communication and control devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,183,015 and 4,680,790 are generally ill-suited for use in conjunction therewith. For example, such prior art devices are not generally located adjacent to the patient""s head when the patient is situated atop a hospital bed when the communication and control device is either an integral part of or removably secured to the bed sideguard. If the communication and control device is of the type which is located near the head end of the hospital bed, it is generally simply pinned to the mattress on one side or the other of the patient""s head, and depending on the particular condition of the patient, the patient may not be able to turn his/her head toward the device in order to speak clearly into the device, thus making such devices ill-suited for voice recognition systems as well.
Other voice recognition devices are known which take the form of either a box which would rest upon a bedside table, or a headset type device which would be worn by the patient. Of these types of devices, the former suffers the drawback that the device is prone to being inadvertently activated by ambient noise as the device must have a high degree of audio sensitivity since it is not located closely adjacent a patient""s head. The latter suffers the obvious drawback of having to be worn by a patient, which creates discomfort, etc.
Other types of bedside devices have been developed for more severely disabled patients who suffer both speech and motor disabilities and who, as a consequence, are not able to manipulate push-button type devices or use speech recognition devices. These include so-called xe2x80x9csip and puffxe2x80x9d devices where a patient alternately sucks from and blows into a straw type device to generate electrical signals; pillow type switches wherein a patient rocks his/her head to one side to activate the switch within the pillow; tongue activated devices; and even eyebrow activated devices which are adhered directly to a patient""s skin adjacent the eyebrow and which are activated upon a patient""s raising or lowering his/her eyebrows.
It has therefore been a primary objective of the present invention to provide a communication and control device for use on a hospital bed which is specifically adapted for voice activation of communication and control functions.
It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide an arm mechanism for attachment to a hospital bed for positioning a communication and control module adjacent a patient""s head.
In accordance with the stated objectives of the present invention, the present invention is a communication and control device for use on a hospital bed which comprises a voice recognition communication and control module for activating at least one of a plurality of communication and control functions upon sensing the patient""s voice, and arm means connected to the module and adapted to be connected to the hospital bed for positioning the module adjacent to the head of the patient situated atop the bed. The communication and control functions activatable by the module preferably include adjusting the height, configuration and orientation of the hospital bed, adjusting the mattress atop the bed, nurse call, room light, reading light, TV and phone. The module of the communication and control device further advantageously includes an alpha numeric display.
In accordance with other features of the present invention, the communication and control device comprises a first arm segment having first and second ends, mechanism for removably securing the first arm segment to a hospital bed, a second arm segment having first and second ends, a first articulating joint connecting the second end of the first arm segment to the first end of the second arm segment, a third flexible arm segment having first and second ends, the first end being connected to the second end of the second arm segment, a communication and control module for activating at least one of a plurality of communication and control functions and a second articulating joint connecting the communication and control module to the second end of the third flexible arm segment.
The communication and control device of the present invention further advantageously includes a third articulating joint connecting the first arm segment to the removably securing mechanism for allowing the first arm segment to rotate relative to the removably securing mechanism about an axis which is generally parallel to a longitudinal dimension of the bed.
The first articulating joint of the present invention preferably allows the second arm segment to rotate relative to the first arm segment about two axes, one of which is generally perpendicular to the first arm segment and generally parallel to a plane defined by the head end portion of the bed, the other of which is generally collinear with the longitudinal axis of the first arm segment.
The second articulating joint preferably allows the communication and control module to rotate relative to the third flexible arm segment about an axis which is generally collinear with a longitudinal axis of the third flexible arm segment.
The removably securing mechanism of the communication and control device of the present invention preferably takes the form of first and second coupling members in the form of a plate and a hook, and a draw latch for effecting relative movement between the first and second coupling members for connection of the coupling members to a hospital bed.
Electrical transmission wire travels from the first end of the first arm segment through the first, second and third arm segments to the module for sending electrical signals from the communication and control module to various electrical devices. The first articulating joint allows this wire to be substantially contained within the first articulating joint where the wire spans from the first arm member to the second arm member. To do so, the articulating joint comprises a rotatable collar connected to one of the first and second arm members, and a pair of hubs connected to the other of the first and second arm members for rotational connection to the collar, the collar including a circumferential slot for accommodating movement of the wire as the first and second arm members are rotated relative to one another, whereby the first and second arm members may be rotated relative to one another without the electrical transmission wire having to be located external to the joint.
One advantage of the present invention is that it advantageously presents a voice recognition type communication and control module adjacent to a patient""s head when the patient is situated atop the hospital bed.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it allows for maximum adjustability of a communication and control module whether a patient is situated atop the hospital bed or is recreating in a chair beside the bed.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that a hospital bed may be readily retrofitted with a communication and control device which presents its voice recognition type communication and control module adjacent to the patient""s head when situated atop the hospital bed.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a novel articulating joint for a communication and control device, or for any other type of electrical device for that matter which employs pivoting arms and which alleviates the need to run electrical transmission wires externally of the pivoting joint.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein, in which: